Integrated circuits (IC), which may also be referred to in some contexts as microchips, typically include a number of semiconductor devices formed thereon. For example, ICs often include transistors, and can also include resistors, capacitors, inductors, and even Micro Electrical-Mechanical devices (MEMs), among other types of devices. In order to allow external (i.e., off-chip) components to electrically connect to the on-chip devices, ICs include pins.
During operation, an IC pin can be set to any one of a number different configurations at any given time. For example, a single I/O pin can be set as an input pin at one time (during which a device on the IC transmits an output current or voltage to the pin) and can be set as an output pin at another time (during which a device on the IC receives an incoming current or voltage from the pin). In conventional approaches, software is used to select a configuration for the pin. For some applications, however, it would be beneficial to adjust the configuration of the pin according to an asynchronous event or to an analog threshold. Accordingly, the present disclosure proposes techniques for reconfiguring an I/O pin based on hardware detected event, which allows faster and more accurate reconfigurations for a pin.